Brandt, Springfield, Ill., on Jan. 11 announced a series of promotions within its Brandt Agronomic Services and Brandt Dealer Support operating units.
John Allen, Vice President of Brandt Agronomic Services, takes over leadership of the unit, which encompasses 26 retail agronomy plants in Illinois and Iowa. He has over 40 years of experience across various leadership roles within the Brandt Agronomic Services.
Brent Wallner, Vice President of Brandt Dealer Support, assumes control of the unit, which provides wholesale products, logistic support, and service to retail and industrial customers in the Midwest. He is an 18-year Brandt veteran.
Allen and Wallner’s new responsibilities went into effect on Jan. 1, 2021, following Tim McArdle’s transition to focus on special projects prior to his retirement. McArdle remains on the Brandt Board of Directors.
Mike Ingram has accepted the position of Brandt Operations Manager. Prior to his new role, he was the Brandt Greenview location manager for over 20 years.
Kyle Wettstein has been promoted to location Manager of Brandt Gridley. He has been a Brandt Field Advisor for the Gridley location since 2016. Collectively, he has over 20 years of experience in retail agronomy business.
Ben Winans has been promoted to location Manager of Brandt Mount Auburn with the retirement announcement of Steve Hardy. Hardy’s combined service with Brandt and Hardy fertilizer spans 48 years. Winans has over 35 years of agronomy business experience at Brandt Mount Auburn. Adam DeClerck has been promoted to Assistant Manager at Brandt Mount Auburn.
Pat Hermes has been promoted to location Manager at Brandt New Berlin. Pat is a 29-year Brandt veteran and has been involved in all aspects of retail agronomy while in an assistant role at Brandt New Berlin. Pat filled a vacancy left by Joe Hermes, who transitioned to a new position as Brandt Crop Protection Manager in Springfield, Ill. Brandt veteran Chris Bergschneider has been promoted to Assistant Manager at Brandt New Berlin.
Brandt has also added four new members to the company’s Discovery & Innovation team and a new Territory Sales Manager. It said the moves support the company’s growth and expanding national footprint.
New Discovery & Innovation team members include John Weber, Technical Agronomist, Pacific Northwest; Gregory Jackson, Technical Agronomist, Eastern Seaboard; Natalie Starich, Technical Data Specialist; and Grant Meckes, Lab Technician. The Discovery & Innovation team is led by Vice President Brian Haschemeyer, who oversees the company’s formulation development, agronomy research and technical support.
On the commercial side, Brandt has added Beau Artist as a Territory Sales Representative for the Turf and Ornamental group covering Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. In addition, Brandt veteran Charles Lanfier has been promoted to Regional Sales Manager, Southeast/Delta.
Late last year, Brandt added Cortney Graham as Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) Manager. She reports to Rick Cathcart, Vice President of EHS.
Graham joins the company from the Association of Illinois Electric Cooperatives, where she served over two years as Regulatory Compliance Manager. In addition to her B.S. in Environmental Health from Illinois State University, she also holds a range of professional EHS certifications.